High voltage positive and negative two-phase discharge system and method for channel erase in flash memory devices

ABSTRACT

An erase discharge circuit in a flash memory is coupled to an array source and a p-well drive and receives first and second discharge signals. The erase discharge circuit operates during a discharge cycle in a first mode in response to the first discharge signal to couple the first node to the second node and to discharge voltages on the first and second nodes at a first rate. The erase discharge circuit operates in a second mode in response to the second discharge signal to couple the first node to the second node to discharge the voltages on the first and second nodes at a second rate.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates generally to integrated circuits,and more specifically to the storage of nonvolatile data in integratedcircuits.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Many battery-powered portable electronic devices, such as laptopcomputers, Portable Digital Assistants, digital cameras, cell phones andthe like, require memory devices that provide large storage capacity andlow power consumption. One type of memory device that is well-suited touse in such portable devices is flash memory, which is a type ofsemiconductor memory that provides relatively large and nonvolatilestorage of data The nonvolatile nature of the storage means that theflash memory does not require power to maintain the data, as will beappreciated by those skilled in the art.

[0003] A typical flash memory includes a memory-cell array having alarge number of memory cells arranged in rows and colunms and groupedinto blocks. FIG. 1A illustrates a simplified cross-sectional view of aconventional flash memory cell 100. The flash memory cell 100 is formedby a field-effect transistor 101 including an N+ source region 102 andan N+ drain region 104 formed in an isolated p-well 106 in asemiconductor substrate (not shown). A P+ region 107 is formed in thep-well 106 and is coupled to a p-well drive PWDRV that receives avoltage to bias the p-well at a required level during various modes ofoperation of the memory-cell 100, as will be discussed in more detailbelow. A channel region 108 is defined in the p-well 106 between thesource region 102 and drain region 104. In the memory-cell arraycontaining the flash memory cell 100, the source region 102 is coupledto an array source AS, with all memory cells 100 in a given block in theflash memory being coupled to the same array source. The drain region104 of each memory cell 100 is coupled to a bit line BL of thememory-cell array.

[0004] The memory cell 100 further includes a floating gate 110 formedon an oxide layer 112 over the channel region 108, with the floatinggate being capable of holding a charge from electrons that aretransferred either to or from the channel region 108 through the oxidelayer 112. A control gate 114 is formed over the floating gate. 110 witha dielectric layer 116 being disposed between the two gates to isolatethe control gate from the floating gate. The control gate 114 of eachmemory cell 100 is coupled to a word line WL of the memory-cell array.

[0005] In operation, during a programming mode charge is stored on thefloating gate 110 and during an erase mode charge is removed from thefloating gate. The presence or absence of charge on the floating gate110 determines a threshold voltage VT of the field effect transistor 101so that when the word line WL is activated (i.e., applies active voltageto the control gate) the transistor either turns ON or stays OFFdepending on whether charge is or isn't stored on the floating gate, aswill be discussed in more detail below. In this way, the memory cell 100stores a first logic state when the floating gate 110 stores charge anda second logic state when the floating gate does not store charge.

[0006]FIG. 1B illustrates the operation of the memory cell 100 of FIG.1A during a write mode. To write data to the memory cell 100, whichmeans to store a charge on the floating gate 110 and, in turn, store thecorresponding logic state in the memory cell, a positive programmingvoltage VPP is applied through the word line WL to the control gate 114.This positive programming voltage VPP on the control gate 114 attractselectrons 120 from the p-well 106 and causes them to accumulate towardthe surface of the channel region 108. During a write, a drain voltageVD is applied through the bit line BL to the drain 104, and the arraysource AS and p-well drive PWDRV are coupled to ground to thereby couplethe source 102 and p-well 106 to ground, respectively. The value of VDdepends upon the process technology, and is typically 3 to 5 volts. Asthe drain-to-source voltage increases, electrons 120 begin to flowthrough the channel 108 from source 102 to drain 104, and in the processsome electrons acquire a large kinetic energy. The voltage differencebetween control gate 114 and the drain 104 creates an electric fieldthrough the oxide layer 116, and this electric field attracts theelectrons 120. Some of the electrons 120 having enough kinetic energy toovercome the barrier presented by the oxide 112. These electrons 120 areattracted to and accumulate on the floating gate 110, which charges thefloating gate. The write operation continues for a required time, andthe programming voltages VPP, VD and ground applied to the word line WL,drain 104, and source 102, respectively, are thereafter removed.

[0007] The charged floating gate 110 raises the threshold voltage VT ofthe field effect transistor 101 above the active voltage applied on theword line WL during subsequent read operations. As a result, when theword line WL goes active during a read, the memory cell 100 does notturn ON and sense amplifiers (not shown) coupled to the bit line BLsense and amplify the current through the memory cell 100 and drive anoutput signal to a first logic state. Thus, in this situation, the senseamplifiers drive the output signal to the first logic state stored bythe memory cell 100 that was previously written to or programmed. Notethat during a write operation, a particular memory cell 100 in thememory-cell array is programmed to the first logic state, in contrast toan erase operation in which the data stored in a block of memory cellsin the array are erased or programmed to a second logic state that isthe complement of the first logic state, as will now be discussed inmore detail.

[0008]FIG. 1C illustrates the operation of the memory cell 100 of FIG.1B during an erase mode. During the erase mode, the memory cell 100 iserased by discharging the floating gate 110. To erase the memory cell100, the voltage VPP, which is developed on a high voltage bus HVBUS inthe flash memory containing the memory cell 100, is applied through thearray source AS and p-well drive PWDRV to the source 102 and p-well 106,respectively. A negative programming voltage −VPP is applied through theword line WL to the control gate 114, and the drain 104 is floated orelectrically isolated. In response to these applied voltages, electrons120 stored on the floating gate 110 are attracted to the source 102through the oxide layer 116 until the floating gate is discharged. Thedischarged floating gate 110 results in the threshold voltage VT of thetransistor 101 being returned to a value below the active voltageapplied on the word line WL during subsequent read operations. As aresult, when the word line WL goes active during a read, the memory cell100 turns ON and sense amplifiers (not shown) coupled to the bit line BLsense and amplify the current through the memory cell 100 and drive theoutput signal to the second logic state. Thus, in this situation, thesense amplifiers drive the output signal to the second logic statestored by the memory cell 100 that was previously erased and notthereafter written to or programmed. As previously mentioned, during theerase mode, all memory cells in a given block are erased and thus storethe second logic state. The array sources AS of all memory cells 100 ina given block are coupled together. As will be understood by thoseskilled in the art, the HVBUS bus is a bus in the flash memory on whichrequired voltages, including the voltage VPP, are developed, and whenthe voltage on the bus is to be applied to a component in the flashmemory the component is simply coupled to the bus.

[0009] After erasing the memory cell 100 but prior to reading data fromthe memory cell, the voltages on the word line WL, array source AS, andp-well drive PWDRV must be discharged to approximately zero volts.Ideally, these voltages are discharged quickly so that a write or readoperation may be performed as soon as possible after a block of memorycells 100 is erased. In a conventional flash memory, however, thephysical structure of the memory-cell array and the memory cells 100results in capacitive coupling between the word line WL and the p-well106 and between the word line and the array source AS as represented bythe capacitors CWP and CWA, respectively, in FIG. 1C. As a result ofthis capacitive coupling, the discharge of the negative voltage −VPP onthe word line WL affects the rate at which the voltages VPP on the arraysource AS and p-well drive PWDRV discharge. The converse is also true,namely the discharge of the positive voltages VPP on the arrays sourceAS and p-well drive PWDRV affect the rate at which the word line WLdischarges.

[0010]FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional discharge cycle and the affectof the capacitive coupling between the word line WL and the array sourceAS and p-well drive PWDRV. At a time T0, discharge circuitry (not shownin FIG. 1) in the flash memory begins discharging the voltage VPP on theHVBUS which, in turn, starts discharging the array source AS and drivePWDRV. At the same time, the discharge circuitry begins discharging thevoltage −VPP on the word line WL. As a result of the capacitivecouplings CWP and CWA, the discharge of word line WL towards groundcauses the voltages on the array source AS and p-well drive PWDRV toincrease above the voltage VPP, as indicated in FIG. 2 just after thetime T0. Similarly, the capacitive couplings CWP and CWA result in thedischarge of the array source AS and drive PWDRV towards ground causingthe voltage on the word line WL to increase below the voltage −VPP, asalso indicated in FIG. 2 just after the time T0. The voltage on the wordline WL going more negative than −VPP and the voltages on the arraysource and drive PWDRV becoming more positive than VPP results in thedischarge of these voltages taking a longer time since the increasedmagnitudes take longer to discharge to ground.

[0011] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the array source AS and p-well drivePWDRV are initially discharged not to ground but to a verify voltageVHC, which is typically approximately 5 volts. As will be appreciated bythose skilled in the art, the HVBUS is discharged to VHC so that thevoltage VHC on the bus may be used during a subsequent verify operationto apply VHC on the word lines WL and access the memory cells 100 toverify each memory cell in the corresponding block was properly erased.At a time T1, the array source AS and p-well drive PWDRV aredisconnected from the HVBUS bus and coupled to ground, resulting in thevoltages on the array source and p-well drive discharging rapidly toground as illustrated. This rapid discharge of the voltages on the arraysource AS and p-well drive PWDRV is once again coupled to the word lineWL due to the capacitive couplings CWA and CWP. As seen in FIG. 2 atjust after the time T2, the voltage on the word line WL dips negative toan even greater extent than before due to the rapid rate of thedischarge of the array source AS and p-well drive PWDRV. Once again,this capacitive coupling results in the discharge of the word line WLtaking longer since the increased magnitude takes longer to discharge toground.

[0012] The capacitive couplings CWA and CWP can result in a totaldischarge time TD, which is the time to discharge the word line WL,array source AS, and p-well drive PWDRV to ground, being undesirablylong. A longer discharge time TD slows the overall operation of theflash memory since after a block of memory cells 100 is erased, datacannot be read from or written to cells in the block until after thetime TD. Furthermore, the capacitive coupling can also have otherundesirable affects on components in the flash memory. For example, ifcoupling results in magnitude of the voltages on the word line WL, arraysource AS, or p-well drive PWDRV becoming too great, junctions in thememory-cell array could become forward biased or break down, possiblydamaging or stressing such junctions and possibly leading to reliabilityproblems or “latchup” of the flash memory, as will be appreciated bythose skilled in the art. A specific example is the PN junction formedby the p-well 106 and source 102. If this PN junction was to becomeforward biased, which could occur when the capacitive coupling CWPbetween the word line WL and the p-well 106 is stronger than thecoupling CWA between the word line and the array source AS, then latchupcould occur.

[0013] There is a need in flash memories for a circuit and method forreducing the coupling between the negative voltage on the word line andthe positive voltages on the array source and p-well drive to reduce thetime required to discharge the word line, array source, and p-well driveafter erasing a block of memory cells, and to prevent stressing ordamaging components in the flash memory during a discharge cycle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0014] According to one aspect of the present invention, an voltagedischarge circuit is adapted to be coupled to a first node and a secondnode and is adapted to receive first and second discharge signals. Thevoltage discharge circuit operates in a first mode in response to thefirst discharge signal to couple the first node to the second node andto discharge voltages on the first and second nodes at a first rate. Thevoltage discharge circuit operates in a second mode in response to thesecond discharge signal to couple the first node to the second node todischarge the voltages on the first and second nodes at a second rate.The voltage discharge circuit may be an erase discharge circuit in aflash memory wherein the first and second nodes correspond to an arraysource and a p-well drive, respectively.

[0015] According to another aspect of the present invention, a method ofdischarging first and second voltages on first and second nodes,respectively, includes coupling the first node to the second node,discharging the voltages on the first and second nodes at a first rate,and discharging the first and second voltages at a second rate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016]FIG. 1A-1C illustrate simplified cross-sectional views of aconventional flash memory cell and the operation of the cell duringwrite and erase operations.

[0017]FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional discharge cycle in a flashmemroy and the affect of the capacitive coupling between the word lineand the array source and p-well drive nodes.

[0018]FIG. 3 is a schematic and functional block diagram illustrating adischarge controller for discharging an array source, p-well drive, andword line WL in a flash memory device according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

[0019]FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of the discharge circuit of FIG.3.

[0020] FIGS. 5A-E are signal diagrams illustrating various signals inthe discharge controller of FIG. 3 during operation.

[0021]FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of a flash memory deviceincluding the discharge controller of FIG. 3.

[0022]FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of a computer systemincluding the flash memory of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023]FIG. 3 is a schematic and functional block diagram illustrating adischarge controller 300 that discharges positive programming voltagesVPP developed on an array source AS and p-well drive PWDRV and anegative programming voltage −VPP developed on a word line WL in a flashmemory device (not shown in FIG. 3) according to one embodiment of thepresent invention. After an erase cycle of the flash memory containingthe discharge controller 300, the discharge controller couples the arraysource AS to the p-well drive PWDRV to prevent forward biasing of the PNjunction formed by these two regions which, in turn, prevents damage tothe flash memory that may result from such forward biasing as previouslymentioned. The discharge controller 300 also controls a rate ofdischarge of the voltages VPP on the array source AS and p-well drivePWDRV to thereby reduce the coupling between the array source/p-welldrive and the word line WL, and in this way reduces the time required todischarge the voltages on the array source, p-well drive, and word lineWL to ground. The operation of the discharge controller 402 will bedescribed in more detail below.

[0024] In the following description, certain details are set forth toprovide a sufficient understanding of the present invention whileancillary circuits have not been shown in detail to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring the present invention. However, it will be clear to oneskilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced withoutthese particular details. Moreover, although embodiments of the presentinvention are described with reference to a flash memory device, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the principles of the presentinvention may be applied to any type of integrated circuit containingflash memory, and may also be applied to other circuits not containingflash memory but where voltages in the circuit are being discharged.

[0025] The discharge controller 300 includes a first level-shiftingcircuit 302 formed by an inverter 304, two NMOS transistors 306, 308,and two PMOS transistors 310, 312 coupled as shown. The firstlevel-shifting circuit 302 develops a high-voltage discharge signalHVDIS on a node 314 in response to a first discharge signal DIS1 appliedto the inverter 304. More specifically, when the DIS1 signal goes high,the transistor 306 turns ON, pulling the gate of the transistor 312 lowand thereby turning ON the transistor 312. A supply voltage VHC isapplied through the turned ON transistor 312, driving the HVDIS1 signalon the node 314 high. In response to the high DIS1 signal, the inverter304 outputs a low discharge enable signal ENDIS1 to the transistor 308,which, in turn, turns OFF. The high voltage on the node 314 also turnsOFF the transistor 310. Thus, in response to the high DIS1 signal, thetransistors 306 and 312 turn ON and transistors 308 and 310 turn OFF,driving the HVDIS1 signal on the node 314 high.

[0026] When the DIS1 signal goes low, the inverter 304 outputs a highENDIS1 signal, turning ON the transistor 308 and thereby pulling theHVDIS 1 signal on the node 314 low. In response to the low HVDIS 1signal on the node 314, the transistor 310 turns ON, applyingapproximately the VHX voltage to the gate of the transistor 312 andturning the transistor 312 OFF. The transistor 306 turns OFF in responseto the low DIS1 signal. The node 314 has some capacitance, and thereforethe rate at which the HVDIS1 signal goes high and the level or magnitudeof the HVDIS1 signal depends on the size of the PMOS transistor 312. Therate at which the HVDIS1 signal goes low depends on the size of the NMOStransistor 308.

[0027] The discharge controller 300 further includes a secondlevel-shifting circuit 316 that includes components 318-328 that operatein the same way as the previously corresponding components 304-314 inthe first level shifting circuit 302. Thus, for the sake of brevity, theoperation and connection of these components 318-328 will not again bedescribed in detail. The second level-shifting circuit 316 develops asecond high voltage discharge signal HVDIS2 on the node 328 in responseto a second discharge signal DIS2. When the DIS2 signal is high and lowthe circuit 316 drives the HVDIS2 signal high and low, respectively, inthe same way as previously described for the first level-shiftingcircuit 302 and the HVDIS1 signal. The rates at which the HVDIS2 signalon the node 328 goes low and high depends on the sizes of the transitors322 and 326, respectively. Other circuitry (not shown in FIG. 3) in theflash memory containing the discharge controller 300 supplies the DIS1and DIS2 signals, as will be discussed in more detail below.

[0028] In the discharge controller 300, the HVDIS1 and HVDIS2 signalsare applied to a discharge circuit 330, which is coupled to the arraysource AS and p-well drive PWDRV. In response the HVDIS1 signal goinghigh, the discharge circuit 300 operates in a first discharge mode,coupling the array source AS to the p-well drive PWDRV and beginning todischarge the voltages VPP on the array source and p-well drive towardsground at a first rate. The first rate controls the discharge of thearray source AS and p-well drive PWDRV so that the coupling betweenthese two nodes and the word line WL is reduced, as will be discussed inmore detail below. In one embodiment of the discharge circuit 330, thevoltages on the array source AS and p-well drive PWDRV are discharged toa threshold voltage VT, which is close to ground, during the firstdischarge mode of operation, as will discussed in more detail below.When the HVDIS2 signal goes high, the discharge circuit 330 commencesoperation in a second discharge mode, coupling the array source AS andp-well drive PWDRV to each other and directly to ground to complete thedischarge of the voltages on these nodes to ground.

[0029] The discharge controller 300 further includes a conventional WLdischarge circuit 332, which, in response to the high DIS1 signal,couples the word line WL to ground to discharge the voltage on the wordline to ground. One skilled in the art will understand circuitry toimplement the WL discharge circuit 332 and thus, for the sake ofbrevity, this circuit will not be described in more detail.

[0030] Before describing the overall operation of the dischargecontroller 300, one embodiment of the discharge circuit 330 will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 4. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, thedischarge circuit 330 includes an NMOS shorting transistor 350 coupledbetween the array source AS and p-well drive PWDRV and receiving theHVDIS1 signal. When the HVDIS1 signal goes high, the transistor 350turns ON, coupling the array source AS to the p-well drive PWDRV which,as previously mentioned, prevents the PN junction formed by the p-welldrive and array source from becoming forward biased during discharge ofthese two node. The discharge circuit 330 further includes a first NMOSdischarge transistor 352 coupled in series with a first diode-coupledNMOS transistor 354 between the array source AS and ground. When theHVDIS1 signal is high, the discharge transistor 352 turn ON, dischargingthe array source AS through the diode-coupled transistor 354 to ground.The diode-coupled transistor 354 has current-voltage characteristicssimilar to those of conventional PN junction diode, and thus currentflows from the array source AS at a first rate according to thesecharacteristics. In this way, the transistors 352 and 354 operate incombination to control the discharge rate of the array source AS duringthe first discharge mode when the HVDIS1 signal is high.

[0031] A bypass NMOS discharge transistor 356 is coupled in parallelwith the diode-coupled transistor 354 and receives the HVDIS2 signal.When the HVDIS2 signal is high during the second discharge mode, thetransistor 356 turns ON, bypassing the diode-coupled transistor 354 andthereby coupling the array source AS directly to ground through theturned ON transistors 352 and 356. Thus, during the second dischargemode, current flows through the transistors 352 and 356 to discharge thearray source AS at a second rate. The current flowing through thetransistors 352 and 356 during the second discharge mode is notcontrolled as during the first discharge mode, and has peak valuelimited only by the physical characteristics of the transistors 352 and356.

[0032] The discharge circuit 330 further includes transistors 358-362coupled in between the p-well drive PWDRV and ground in the same way asthe transistors 352-356, respectively, are coupled between the arraysource AS and ground. The transistors 358-362 operate during the firstand second discharge modes in the same way as previously described forthe transistors 352-366 and thus, for the sake of brevity, theiroperation will not be described in more detail.

[0033] The overall operation of the discharge controller 300 will now bedescribed in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 along withFIGS. 5A-E, which are signal timing diagrams illustrating severalsignals in the discharge controller during a discharge cycle ofoperation. As shown in FIG. 5E, operation of the discharge controller300 in the first discharge mode commences at a time T0 when the DIS1signal goes high. In response to the DIS1 signal going high, WLdischarge circuit 332 begins discharging the word line WL to ground andthe first level-shifting circuit 302 begins driving the HVDIS1 signal onthe node 314 high. As previously mentioned and as illustrated in FIG.5C, the HVDIS1 signal begins increasing after the time T0, with the rateof increase being determined by the size of the PMOS transistor 312 inthe first level-shifting circuit 302. As the voltage of the HVDIS1signal increases, the shorting transistor 350 turns ON and couples thearray source AS to the p-well drive PWDRV. In response to the HVDIS1signal going high, the discharge transistors 352, 358 also turn ON andbegin discharging the array source AS and p-well drive PWDRV through thediode-coupled transistors 354 and 360. As shown in FIG. 5D, the DIS2signal is low during the first discharge mode, causing the secondlevel-shifting circuit 316 to drive the HVDIS signal low which turns OFFthe bypass transistors 356 and 362.

[0034] At this point during the first discharge mode, the voltages VPPon the array source AS and p-well drive PWDRV discharge through thediode-coupled transistors 354, 360 and the voltage on the array sourceand p-well drive begins decreasing as illustrated. Note the voltage −VPPon the word line WL also begins increasing towards ground at this time.The discharge of the word line WL directly to ground slightly affectsthe discharge of the array source AS and p-well drive PWDRV, asindicated by the level portion 500 of the discharge voltage curves forthe array source and p-well drive between the time T0 and a time T1. Noincrease in the voltages on the array source AS and p-well drive PWDRVresults from this coupling of the word line discharge. Moreover, alsonote the discharge of the array source AS and p-well drive PWDRV doesnot affect the voltage on the word line WL as in the prior art.

[0035] The discharge controller 300 discharges the voltages on the arraysource AS, p-well drive PWDRV, and word line WL to ground as illustratedin FIG. 5A after the time T0. The controller 300 operates in the firstdischarge mode from the time T0 until at time T2, at which point theDIS2 signal goes high to initiate the second discharge mode ofoperation. The DIS1 signal remains high during the second dischargemode, causing the first level-shifting circuit 302 to maintain theHVDIS1 signal high. In response to the high DIS2 signal, the secondlevel shifting circuit 316 drives the HVDIS2 signal high as shown inFIG. 5B after the time T2. When the HVDIS2 signal goes high, the bypasstransistors 356, 362 (FIG. 4) turn ON, bypassing the diode-coupledtransistors 354, 360 and discharging the array source AS and p-welldrive PWDRV to ground through the transistors 352, 356 and 358, 362. Thevoltages on the array source AS and p-well drive PWDRV begin dischargingto ground, as illustrated by the portion 500 of these voltage curves atjust after the time T2.

[0036] In the discharge controller 300, the discharge of the arraysource AS and p-well drive PWDRV directly to ground does not affect thevoltage on the word line WL as in the prior art. This is true becausethe voltages on the array source AS and p-well drive PWDRV have beendischarged to approximately the threshold voltages VT of thediode-coupled transistors 354, 360 before the controller 300 commencesoperation in the second discharge mode. This controlled discharge of thevoltages on the array source AS and p-well drive PWDRV during the firstdischarge mode means there is no rapid discharge of relatively highvoltages on the array source and p-well drive when these node werecoupled directly to ground as in the prior art. No rapid dischargeresults in less coupling between the array source AS/p-well drive PWDRVand the word line WL, and thus the discharge voltage on the word line WLis not greatly affected by the discharge of the array source and p-welldrive. As a result, the total discharge time TD of the array source AS,p-well drive PWDRV, and word line WL is reduced with the dischargecontroller 300. Also note from FIG. 5A that the voltages on the arraysource AS and p-well drive PWDRV are approximately equal due to theshorting transistor 350 (FIG. 4) coupling these two nodes together andthereby preventing any damage to the flash memory that can result fromsuch forward biasing, as previously discussed.

[0037] With the discharge controller 300, the rate at which the arraysource AS and p-well drive PWDRV are discharged is a function of therate at which the HVDIS1 signal goes high, which is a function of thesize of the transistor 312 in FIG. 3. The rate at which the array sourceAS and p-well drive PWDRV are discharged is also a function of thecurrent through the diode-coupled transistor 354 (FIG. 4). While thedischarge rate of the array source AS and p-well drive PWDRV iscontrolled via the diode-coupled transistors 354, 360 (FIG. 4), oneskilled in the art will appreciate that other circuits may be used inplace of the diode-coupled transistors to control this discharge rate.

[0038]FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of a flash memory 400including the discharge controller 300 of FIG. 3. The flash memory 400includes a command state machine (CSM) that receives commands in theform of a number of command signals, including a reset/power-down signalRP#, a chip enable signal CE#, a write enable signal WE#, and an outputenable signal OE#, where the “190” denotes a signal as being low true.The commands are issued to the CSM 404 by an external processor (notshown), and the CSM functions a an interface between the externalprocessor and an internal write state machine (WSM) 408. When a specificcommand is issued to the CSM 404, internal command signals are providedto the WSM 408, which in turn, executes the appropriate algorithm togenerate the necessary timing signals to control the memory device 400internally, and accomplish the requested operation. The WSM 408 appliesthe DIS1 and DIS2 signals to the discharge controller 300 in response tothe processor applying an erase command to the flash memory 400. The CSM404 also provides the internal command signals to an ID register 408 anda status register 410, which allows the progress of various operationsto be monitored when interrogated by issuing to the CSM 404 theappropriate command.

[0039] Portions of the commands are also provided to input/output (I/O)logic 412 which, in response to a read or write command, enables a datainput buffer 416 and an output buffer 418, respectively. The I/O logic412 also provides signals to an address input buffer 422 in order foraddress signals to be latched by an address latch 424. The latchedaddress signals are in turn provided by the address latch 424 to anaddress multiplexer 428 under the command of the WSM 406. The addressmultiplexer 428 selects between the address signals provided by theaddress latch 424 and those provided by an address counter 432. Theaddress signals provided by the address multiplexer 428 are used by anaddress decoder 440 to access the memory cells of memory banks 444 a,444 b that correspond to the address signals. A gating/sensing circuit448 a, 448 b is coupled to each memory bank 444 a, 444 b for the purposeof programming and erase operations, as well as for read operations.Each gating/sensing circuit 448 a, 448 b also couples the array sourceAS, p-well drive PWDRV, and word lines WL for blocks of memory cells inthe banks 444 a, 444 b to the discharge controller 300.

[0040] During a read operation, data is sensed by the gating/sensingcircuit 448 and amplified to sufficient voltage levels before beingprovided to an output multiplexer 450. The read operation is completedwhen the WSM 406 instructs an output buffer 418 to latch data providedfrom the output multiplexer 450 to be provided to the externalprocessor. The output multiplexer 450 can also select data from the IDand status registers 408, 410 to be provided to the output buffer 418when instructed to do so by the WSM 406. During a program or eraseoperation, the I/O logic 412 commands the data input buffer 416 toprovide the data signals to a data register 460 to be latched. The WSM406 also issues commands to program/erase circuitry 464 which uses theaddress decoder 440 to carry out the process of injecting or removingelectrons from the memory cells of the memory banks 444 a, 444 b tostore the data provided by the data register 460 to the gating sensingcircuit 448. The program/erase circuitry 464 also provides the erasevoltages VPP and −VPP to the discharge controller 300. The dischargecontroller 300 operates as previously described in response to the DIS1and DIS2 signals from the WSM 406 to discharge the array source AS,p-well drive, PWDRV, and word lines WL in a selected block of memorycells in the memory banks 444 a, 444 b. To ensure that sufficientprogramming or erasing has been performed, a data comparator 470 isinstructed by the WSM 406 to compare or verify the state of theprogrammed or erased memory cells to the data latched by the dataregister 460.

[0041] It will be appreciated that the embodiment of the flash 400 thatis illustrated in FIG. 6 has been provided by way of example and thatthe present invention is not limited thereto. Those of ordinary skill inthe art have sufficient understanding to modify the previously describedmemory device embodiment to implement embodiments of the dischargecontroller. For example, although the discharge controller 300 isrepresented in FIG. 6 as a separate circuit block, the controller may beincorporated into one of the other circuit blocks, or alternatively, maybe split among several circuit blocks. The particular arrangement of thedischarge controller 300 within a memory device will be a matter ofdesign preference.

[0042]FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a computer system 500 includingcomputer circuitry 502 that contains the flash memory 400 of FIG. 6. Thecomputer circuitry 502 performs various computing functions, such asexecuting specific software to perform specific calculations or tasks.In addition, the computer system 500 includes one or more input devices504, such as a keyboard or a mouse, coupled to the computer circuitry502 to allow an operator to interface with the computer system.Typically, the computer system 500 also includes one or more outputdevices 506 coupled to the computer circuitry 502, such output devicestypically being a printer or video display. One or more data storagedevices 508 are also typically coupled to the computer circuitry 502 tostore data or retrieve data from external storage media (not shown).Examples of typical storage devices 508 include hard and floppy disks,tape cassettes, compact disc read-only memories (CD-ROMs), read-write CDROMS (CD-RW), and digital video discs (DVDs). The computer system 510also typically includes communications ports 510 such as a universalserial bus (USB) and/or an IEEE-1394 bus to provide for communicationswith other devices, such as desktop personal computers, a digitalcameras, and digital camcorders. The computer circuitry 502 is typicallycoupled to the flash memory 400 through appropriate address, data, andcontrol busses to provide for writing data to and reading data from theflash memory.

[0043] Even though various embodiments and advantages of the presentinvention have been set forth in the foregoing description, the abovedisclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail andyet remain within the broad aspects of the invention. Therefore, thepresent invention is to be limited only by the appended claims.

1. A voltage discharge circuit adapted to be coupled to a first node anda second node and adapted to receive first and second discharge signals,the voltage discharge circuit operable in a first mode in response tothe first discharge signal to couple the first node to the second nodeand to discharge voltages on the first and second nodes at a first rate,and operable in a second mode in response to the second discharge signalto discharge the voltages on the first and second nodes at a secondrate.
 2. The voltage discharge circuit of claim 1 wherein the first nodecomprises an array source and the second node comprises a p-well drive.3. The voltage discharge circuit of claim 1 wherein the first ratecomprises a controlled discharge of current from the first and secondnodes to ground.
 4. The voltage discharge circuit of claim 1 wherein thesecond rate comprises an uncontrolled discharge of current from thefirst and second nodes to ground.
 5. The voltage discharge circuit ofclaim 1 wherein the first discharge signal goes active to initiate thefirst mode and couple the first node to the second node, and the firstdischarge signal remains active during the second mode.
 6. The voltagedischarge circuit of claim 1 further adapted to be coupled to a thirdnode, and operable in response to the first discharge signal to coupledthe third node to ground to discharge a voltage on the third node, andwherein the first and second nodes are capacitively coupled to the thirdnode.
 7. The voltage discharge circuit of claim 1 wherein the first modehas a first duration sufficient to allow the voltages on the first andsecond nodes to discharge to a threshold voltage having a magnitude thatis substantially near ground.
 8. The voltage discharge circuit of claim1 wherein the circuit maintains the first node coupled to the secondnode during the second mode of operation.
 9. An erase discharge circuit,comprising: a first switching circuit coupled between the array sourceand p-well drive and adapted to receive a first discharge signal, thefirst switching circuit operable to couple the array source to thep-well responsive to the first discharge signal; a second switchingcircuit adapted to receive the first discharge signal and coupledbetween the array source and p-well drive and ground, the secondswitching circuit operable in response to the first discharge signal tocontrol the flow of current from the array source and p-swell drive toground; and a third switching circuit adapted to receive the seconddischarge signal and coupled between the array source and p-well driveand ground, the third switching circuit operable in response to thesecond discharge signal to couple the array source and p-well drive toground.
 10. The erase discharge circuit of claim 9 wherein the firstswitching circuit is operable to present an impedance having a valuethat is a function of a voltage of the first discharge signal.
 11. Theerase discharge circuit of claim 9 wherein the first and third switchingcircuits each comprises a transistor.
 12. The erase discharge circuit ofclaim 9 wherein the second switching circuit comprises a diode-coupledtransistor that is coupled between the array source and p-well drive andground responsive to the second discharge signal being active and isisolated from the array source and p-well drive responsive to the seconddischarge signal being inactive.
 13. The erase discharge circuit ofclaim 9 further including a fourth switching circuit adapted to becoupled to a word line and ground, and operable in response to the firstdischarge signal to couple the word line to ground.
 14. An erasedischarge circuit, comprising: a control circuit adapted to receive afirst discharge signal and a second discharge signal and operable in afirst mode responsive to the first discharge signal being active todevelop a first activation signal and to control a rate of increase of amagnitude of the first activation signal, and operable in a second moderesponsive to the second discharge signal being active to develop asecond activation signal and to control a rate of increase of amagnitude of the second activation signal; a first switching circuitcoupled between the array source and p-well drive and coupled to thecontrol circuit to receive the first activation signal, the firstswitching circuit operable to present an impedance having a value thatis a function of the magnitude of the first activation signal; acurrent-limiting device having a first node coupled to ground and havinga second node, the current limiting device allowing a current to flowfrom the second node to the first node; a second switching circuitcoupled between the array source and p-well drive and the second node ofthe current-limiting device, and being coupled to the control circuit toreceive the first activation signal, the second switching circuitoperable to present an impedance having a value that is a function ofthe magnitude of the first activation signal to discharge the arraysource and p-well drive at a first rate, the first rate having a valuethat is a function of the current through the current-limiting deviceand the impedance of the second switching circuit; and a third switchingcircuit coupled to the control circuit to receive the second dischargesignal and coupled to the first and second nodes of the current-limitingdevice, the third switching circuit operable in response to the seconddischarge signal to couple the second node to ground to discharge thearray source and p-well drive at a second rate.
 15. The erase dischargecircuit of claim 14 wherein the first and second switching circuits eachcomprises a transistor.
 16. The erase discharge circuit of claim 14wherein the current-limiting device comprises a diode-coupledtransistor.
 17. The erase discharge circuit of claim 14 furtherincluding a fourth switching circuit adapted to be coupled to a wordline and ground, and operable in response to the first discharge signalto couple the word line to ground.
 18. An erase discharge circuitadapted to be coupled to the array source and p-well drive of a block ofmemory cells and adapted to receive first and second discharge signals,the erase discharge circuit operable in a first mode in response to thefirst discharge signal to couple the array source to the p-well driveand to discharge current from the array source and p-well drive at afirst rate until the voltages on the array source and p-well drive arewithin a threshold value of a reference voltage, the threshold valuebeing substantially less than an initial value of the voltages on thearray source and p-well drive, and the erase discharge circuit operablein a second mode in response to the second discharge signal to dischargecurrent from the array source and p-well drive at a second rate untilvoltages on the array source and p-well drive are approximately equal tothe reference voltage.
 19. The erase discharge circuit of claim 18wherein the first rate comprises a controlled discharge of current fromthe array source and p-well drive to ground.
 20. The erase dischargecircuit of claim 18 wherein initial value of the voltages on the arraysource and p-well drive comprises a programming voltage VPP, and thethreshold value comprises a threshold voltage VT of a diode-coupledtransistor.
 21. The erase discharge circuit of claim 18 wherein thesecond rate comprises an uncontrolled discharge of current from thearray source and p-well drive to ground.
 22. The erase discharge circuitof claim 18 wherein the first discharge signal goes active to initiatethe first mode and couple the array source to the p-well drive, and thefirst discharge signal remains active during the second mode.
 23. Theerase discharge circuit of claim. 18 wherein the second rate comprises adischarge rate of current from the array source and p-well drive toground, the second rate having a value that is a function of thevoltages on the array source and p-well drive.
 24. The erase dischargecircuit of claim 18 further adapted to be coupled to a word line, andoperable in response to the first discharge signal to couple the wordline to ground.
 25. The voltage discharge circuit of claim 18 whereinthe circuit maintains the array source coupled to the p-well driveduring the second mode of operation.
 26. An erase discharge circuitadapted to be coupled to the array source and p-well drive of a block ofmemory cells and adapted to receive first and second discharge signals,the erase discharge circuit operable in a first mode in response to thefirst discharge signal to couple the array source to the p-well driveand to discharge current from the array source and p-well drive for afirst time until the voltages on the array source and p-well drive arewithin a threshold value of a reference voltage, the threshold valuebeing substantially less than an initial value of the voltages on thearray source and p-well drive, and the erase discharge circuit operablein a second mode in response to the second discharge signal to dischargecurrent from the array source and p-well drive for a second time untilvoltages on the array source and p-well drive are substantially equal tothe reference voltage.
 27. The erase discharge circuit of claim 26wherein initial value of the voltages on the array source and p-welldrive comprises a programming voltage VPP, and the threshold valuecomprises a threshold voltage VT of a diode-coupled transistor.
 28. Theerase discharge circuit of claim 26 wherein the reference voltagecomprises ground.
 29. The erase discharge circuit of claim 26 whereinthe first discharge signal goes active to initiate the first mode andcouple the array source to the p-well drive, and the first dischargesignal remains active during the second mode.
 30. The erase dischargecircuit of claim 26 further adapted to be coupled to a word line, andoperable in response to the first discharge signal to couple the wordline to ground during the first and second modes.
 31. A flash memorydevice, comprising: an address bus; a control bus; a data bus; anaddress decoder coupled to the address bus; a read/write circuit coupledto the data bus; a control circuit coupled to the control bus; a flashmemory-cell array coupled to the address decoder, control circuit, andread/write circuit, and including an array source and swell drive; andan erase discharge circuit coupled to the array source and p-well driveand coupled to the control circuit to receive first and second dischargesignals, the erase discharge circuit operable in a first mode inresponse to the first discharge signal to couple the array source to thep-well drive and to discharge voltages on the array source and p-welldrive at a first rate, and operable in a second mode in response to thesecond discharge signal to couple the array source to the p-well driveand to discharge the voltages on the array source and p-well drive at asecond rate.
 32. The flash memory device of claim 31 wherein the erasedischarge circuit is further coupled to word lines of the memory-cellarray and is operable responsive to the first discharge signal to coupleselected word lines to ground.
 33. A computer system, comprising: a datainput device; a data output device; a processor coupled to the datainput and output devices; and a flash memory device coupled to theprocessor, the memory device comprising, an address bus; a control bus;a data bus; an address decoder coupled to the address bus; a read/writecircuit coupled to the data bus; a control circuit coupled to thecontrol bus; a flash memory-cell array coupled to the address decoder,control circuit, and read/write circuit, and including an array sourceand p-well drive; and an erase discharge circuit coupled to the arraysource and p-well drive and coupled to the control circuit to receivefirst and second discharge signals, the erase discharge circuit operablein a first mode in response to the first discharge signal to couple thearray source to the p-well drive and to discharge voltages on the arraysource and p-well drive at a first rate, and operable in a second modein response to the second discharge signal to couple the array source tothe p-well drive and to discharge the voltages on the array source andp-well drive at a second rate.
 34. The computer system of claim 33wherein the erase discharge circuit is further coupled to word lines ofthe memory-cell array and is operable responsive to the first dischargesignal to couple selected word lines to ground.
 35. A method ofdischarging first and second voltages on first and second nodes,respectively, the method comprising: coupling the first node to thesecond node; discharging the voltages on the first and second nodes at afirst rate; and discharging the first and second voltages at a secondrate.
 36. The method of claim 35 wherein discharging the voltages on thefirst and second nodes at a first rate comprises discharging currentfrom the first and second nodes at rate defined by the current-voltagecharacteristics of a diode-coupled MOS transistor.
 37. The method ofclaim 35 wherein discharging the first and second voltages at a secondrate comprises coupling the first and second nodes to a referencevoltage node.
 38. The method of claim 35 wherein the first and secondnodes comprise an array source node and a p-well drive node,respectively.
 39. A method of discharging first, second, and thirdvoltages on first, second, and third nodes, respectively, the first andsecond nodes being electrically coupled to the third node, the methodcomprising: coupling the first node to the second node; dischargingcurrent from the third node; discharging current from the first andsecond nodes; controlling a rate of the discharge of current from thefirst and second nodes, the rate being controlled to reduce an influenceof the discharge of current from the first and second nodes on thevoltage on the third node; and discharging current from the first andsecond nodes at a second rate.
 40. The method of claim 39 whereincontrolling a rate of the discharge of current from the first and secondnodes comprises discharging current from the first and second nodes atrate defined by the current-voltage characteristics of a diode-coupledMOS transistor.
 41. The method of claim 39 wherein discharging currentfrom the first and second nodes at a second rate comprises coupling thefirst and second nodes to a reference voltage node, and wherein thedischarge of current from the third node comprises coupling the thirdnode to the reference voltage node.
 42. The method of claim 39 whereinthe first and second nodes comprise an array source node and a p-welldrive node, respectively, and the third node comprises a word line node.